Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 29th

Most people want to hear or tell a good story. But they don’t realize they can and should be the good story. That requires intentional living. - John C. Maxwell, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat. - Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

 

This blog post falls during the week where most people are recovering from Christmas and preparing for a new year.  As the author has talked about in many blog posts, 2020 has been a crazy year.  The reader does not know what 2021 will hold.  No one knows when the vaccine will be given to the majority of the population, how each person’s career will progress or what will happen in the reader’s personal life.  Each of us can leave this up to chance or we can determine what we want to accomplish in 2021 no matter what else happens.  Brene Brown states it well:

 

It’s not about ‘what can I accomplish?’ but ‘what do I want to accomplish?’ Paradigm shift.

 

This week as we rest, recover and relax, take time to contemplate what the reader wants to do in 2021 to make a difference.  Do not be limited in thinking.  Do not be limited in time, resources, etc.  Dream big and do not allow anything to hamper what the reader desires to accomplish in 2021. 

 

ACTION:  Spend 30 minutes writing down what you want to accomplish in 2021. 

 

Resource

·       https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slowing-down-to-go-fast/id1474171732?i=1000503269447

·       http://www.aleanjourney.com/2014/08/walt-disney-lean-thinker.html

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3j3yR3Qx8

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qPf5PTT1M&t=29s

·       http://www.aleanjourney.com/2014/08/walt-disney-lean-thinker.html

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 22nd

 Hope is the last thing ever lost. —Italian proverb. 

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. —Barbara Kingsolver

 

Hope is outreaching desire with expectancy of good. It is a characteristic of all living beings. —Edward S. Ame

 

Over the last couple of weeks, the author has talked about the things she has learned in 2020: perspective, simplicity, resiliency.  Today, the last topic the author learned we all need in life is: HOPE. 

 

For the author, there have been some very hard times, but what she learned is that she needs hope in life.  Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hope as: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.

 

The author learned that hope can be as simple as planning and living in expectation to visit a new state park, planning and implementing a night out with friends or scheduling a vacation and waiting to go visit the beach.

 

With hope, we focus on what is ahead and not what is behind.  Hope is the expectation of something amazing. 

 

Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror. ― Colin Powell

 

ACTION:  As we near 2021, start planning fun and exciting activities.  2020 may not have been a great year, but have hope that 2021 will be your best year ever. 

 

Resource

·       https://pastorrick.com/the-only-place-to-find-hope/

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC5IUss2_Qk

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvBK_wpqCi4

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 15th

 Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. - Michelle Obama

 

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. - Og Mandino

 

·       George Washington lost a majority of the battles he fought in the American Revolution.

·       Napoleon graduated 42^nd out of 43^rd in his class and later domineered Europe as the Emperor of France.

·       Albert Einstein did not speak until he was at least 4 years old.  At 16, he failed to pass the entrance exam for the Swiss Polytechnic School.  Later, he revolutionized science and math.

 

Like the historical figures above, probably everyone has had to be resilient in 2020.  On June 2, 2020, the author discussed how we would have to be resilient like a palm tree to make it through the pandemic.  When we are pushed down like the branches of a palm tree during a hurricane, we are developing and growing.  2020 has probably been a growing year for everyone in some way or another.  To help push through and be resilient, the answer is:

 

Become more resilient by learning to focus on solutions rather than problems. - Byron Pulsifer, Personal Development Goals

 

Struggles are hard but once we overcome them, we gain something - maturity, wisdom, confidence, balance, tranquility, and of course, resilience. - Sharon Cook & Graciela Sholander, Dream It Do It

 

The author’s resilience in 2020 has developed and grown her.  She plans to continue to implement these qualities in her personal and professional life in 2021 to help her continue to push towards her goals and dreams.  

 

ACTION: What actions steps did you learn in 2020 about being resilient that you plan to continue to incorporate into your life in 2021?

 

Resource

·       https://pastorrick.com/why-we-dont-give-up/

·       https://www.wow4u.com/resiliencequotes/#:~:text=39%20Resilience%20Quotes%201%20You%20need%20to%20develop,the%20face%20of%20adversity.%20...%20More%20items...%20

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 8th

 The role of genius is not to complicate the simple, but to simplify the complicated. - Criss Jami

 

Simplicity was a major topic the author pondered in 2020.  Throughout the year, she discovered the need for simplicity in her personal and professional life including in materials items, her writing, decision-making and thoughts.  

 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication… - Leonardo da Vinci

 

The author has always loved the ocean, but discovered an increased love for it and discovered the peace the ocean provides due to the simplicity of waves rolling onto the shore when she traveled to the ocean in June and October.  When she became stressed or overwhelmed, the author played ocean waves on YouTube and looked at the ocean themed surroundings she placed in her apartment and was reminded of the beauty, simplicity and enjoyment the ocean brought her. 

 

Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful. - John Maeda

 

The author also discovered how easy chaos appears in her professional and personal life.  A simple statement, email or conversation can create chaos if she allows it to. 

 

Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered. - José Saramago, The Double

In 2021, the author will continue to work on deciphering the chaos to create simplicity and order in all areas of her life.

 

ACTION:  How did you incorporate simplicity into your life in 2020?  What actions do you plan to take to incorporate simplicity into 2021?

 

Resources

·       https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9010638-simplicity-is-the-ultimate-sophistication-when-once-you-have-tasted

·       https://www.inc.com/gordon-tredgold/simplicity-is-the-key-to-success-here-are-26-inspiring-quotes-to-help-you-on-tha.html

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 1st

 There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. ― Aldous Huxley

 

It's all in the mind. ― George Harrison

 

Today as we launch into the last month of 2020, this is a great time to reflect on what we have learned this year.  The author has written about many things she has learned and over the next couple of weeks will reflect on a few thoughts. 

 

2020 was definitely not the year many of us expected and the author has worked very hard to keep a positive perspective.  Reflecting on the year, she remembers the day when the Virginia Governor announced there would be a state lockdown.  She was not happy and voiced her strong opinions to Mama Flow.  However, this year has turned out better than she expected.  The author has had the opportunity to travel to a few different places and found a new interest in state and national parks.  This may not seem like a big thing, but this has opened her to a new love of the outdoors.  These learning opportunities are preparing her to accomplishing her dreams. 

 

A pessimist sees the difficult in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill

 

The author learned that to have the perspective of this being a time of learning and growing, it was her decision. No one can make the author see the positive in a situation. 

 

Humans see what they want to see. ― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

 

 

ACTION:  What perspectives do you need to change to finish 2020 strong?  How will you change your perspective to make it positive? 

 

Resource

·       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201210/50-quotes-perspective

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Bo8ZUoqwg

·       https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4047/20-Inspiring-Quotes-to-Keep-Things-in-Perspective.html

·       https://www.joelosteen.com/inspiration/blogs/2018/10/02/00/47/Keep-the-Right-Perspective

·       https://joycemeyer.org/everydayanswers/ea-teachings/how-to-win-daily-battles-of-the-mind?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=December%202019%20eNewsletter%20US%20(Full)%20(1)%20remainder&utm_content=